To be Hokage!
by Mr. 14
Summary: When loneliness and pain is all you have ever known, the only thing you have left to hold on to are your dreams. Something Naruto knew all too well. That is, until he started the academy.
1. The Academy

**Chapter 1**

**The Academy**

* * *

The young blond had been finding it hard to shake his excitement all week and now that the day he had so been looking forward to had arrived he could barely contain himself.

After having a quick shower and a cup of instant ramen, he threw on his favourite orange jump suit and admired his reflection in the mirror. He had been told countless times that the colour was inappropriate for a ninja. That it was too noticeable and that a ninjas greatest strength was remaining undetected. Despite this, the blond was very fond of it and felt some sort of attachment to the colour and so wore it anyway.

Now as he ran through the streets of Konoha he could see people were looking at him. He could see their cold stares, full of fear and hatred. He responded as he always did with a kind smile but inside he could feel all the pain he had been bottling up over the years start to spill out. Its not like he wasn't used to it, it had been happening ever since he could remember and it always left him feeling the way he did right now. He just couldn't understand why so many people felt the way they did towards him.

He sighed, clearing his mind of any thoughts or feelings. If it had been any other day, he would have been left in a world of hurtful thoughts and unanswered questions but this was not just any other day. This was the day he would start the academy, the day where he would take his first steps towards becoming a ninja. He was determined not to let anything spoil this day.

Just thinking about entering the academy caused him to shiver in excitement. He could not wait to see what he could learn, to see how strong he would get, to show everyone in the village he wasn't a nobody, that he was a ninja and a protector of Konohagakure. Although he would never admit it, what he most looked forward to was making friends. However, he was not going to get his hopes up like he had done in the past. He was accustomed to being treated badly wherever he went, it wouldn't be a surprise if the academy was not any different. Still, part of him ached for friendship, he had suffered the pain of loneliness for too long.

Soon enough he found himself entering the academy grounds. He noticed there were a few trees dotted here and there, from one tree was a swing that was rocking back and forth in the wind. Seeing as there was nobody else around he decided to take a seat and wait for others to arrive. The academy building itself was massive and looked like it was made of several different buildings, however what caught his attention the most was a giant sign with the kanji for fire on it.

Only a few minutes had passed by but many children had arrived with their parents. The blond shifted uncomfortably as he looked around, seeing that many eyes were on him the same coldness to them he had experienced earlier. Their arms around their children as if shielding them from some great evil.

It didn't take long for some of the parents to start talking about him amongst themselves, this often happened and truth be told he was expecting it to.

"Now listen to me, you stay away from that _boy _he's nothing but trouble." Said one of the mothers warning her daughter.

"I can't believe they let _him _become a ninja, after everything that has happened." Hissed another causing many more to voice their opinions.

All throughout the hurtful comments the young blond kept his eyes firmly fixed to the ground. He would never give them the satisfaction of seeing him hurt. '_A shinobi must never show emotion_.' He thought to himself.

As the doors of the academy slowly started to open silence swept through the crowd. Out stepped a man the blond knew very well, his hat had the kanji for fire on it, just like the academy building and was tilted over his eyes. By his side was another man, one the blond had never seen before, he wore a leaf hitai-ate and had a large scar across his nose.

"Welcome to the beginning." Said the Hokage smiling widely at the crowd, despite the warm smile he seemed to demand the respect of everyone, it wasn't surprising seeing as he was the strongest ninja in the village. "I see many great ninja in the making here today." He continued, eyes falling on the blond sat by himself on the swing. His comment made many children smile, hope evident in their eyes. "But don't think this is going to be easy, the chances of any of you actually making it are very slim. You will need to work hard, harder than you ever have before." He said, with a serious expression on his face. "The life of a ninja is a perilous one, it is filled with pain, danger and death. It is not for the weak of heart. All of you before me have inherited the will of fire, I can see it in all of you. Work hard and have fun, never forget to laugh and enjoy yourself for these are the best years of your life." He finished smiling once more looking into the eyes of each and every child present trying to make his words as heartfelt and personal as possible.

Suddenly, the man with the scar stepped forward and started to speak. "I'm Iruka Umino, I will be your instructor during your time at the academy. If you are ready to do what it takes to make it as a ninja of Konohagakure then follow me." He said, turning around.

As he turned away he heard someone's voice shout out behind him. Looking back he saw the young blond boy that was sat on the swing, now stood on his feet. "My name is Naruto Uzumaki and I will be a ninja and I will take your place one day old man, believe it!"

The outburst earned a couple of dirty looks but nothing was said. Iruka could see that most of Narutos declaration was not directed at him but at the crowd.

Iruka turned away once more saying nothing, he walked into the academy a large grin on his face as he heard all the footsteps behind him. '_I have a feeling this will be the best generation of shinobi yet_.' He thought to himself with a smile.


	2. Friends and enemies

Note:

'_thoughts_'  
**flashback  
**_***sound***_

**Chapter 2**

**Friends and enemies**

* * *

There were many things he couldn't help but be happy about, one of which was Friday. For Naruto it was the best day of the week by far for two reasons in particular. One, every Friday afternoon at the academy each student had their abilities in close combat tested through sparring matches against an opponent allocated by the instructor. The opponent that you were assigned depended on how well you had performed in previous match-ups and Naruto had steadily been climbing the ranks ever since he started the academy. He had been looking forward to his match for a long time now, he knew there was only one person the instructors would be able to assign to him. Two, the weekend was upon him. This meant training, Ichiraku ramen and spending time with the people who meant more to him than anyone else, his friends. The thought brought a smile to his face as he started to think back to his first day at the academy.

* * *

**Naruto quickly took a seat noticing the amount of people that were looking at him. The looks were similar to the ones he got everywhere else, the only difference was there was no hatred or anger in them like there had been earlier with the adults. He sighed looking at the empty seats either side of him. '**_**Great, the first day isn't even over yet and I'm already the most unpopular person here**_**.' He thought laying his head down on the table. "This is going to be a long day." He said quietly.**

**His thoughts were interrupted when somebody took a seat next to him.**

**"I hope you don't mind me sitting he..." She said as the blond lifted his head of the table to look at her. The girl spoke in a quiet voice as if shy. She had short black hair and light skin but what had caught Naruto's attention the most was her eyes, they were completely white, even her pupils. For some reason Naruto couldn't explain he was unable to look away.**

**"No of course not." He said politely. "I'm Naruto and you are?" He asked holding out his hand and offering her a friendly smile.**

**"H-Hinata." She said quietly, blushing slightly as she shook his hand.**

**"Well it's nice to meet you Hinata, I hope we can be friends." He said apprehensively, a little uneasy about her answer.**

**She seemed to be a little lost for words, the blush in her cheeks growing darker. "I-I'd really like that, N-Naruto." She said with a shy smile.**

* * *

Since then the pain of loneliness no longer affected him. Sure, he still received the hate filled looks and was made to feel unwelcome wherever he went but none of the seemed to affect him liked it used to. He felt comfort knowing that someone in this world cared about him, her care was his protection against all the pain he may face. For Naruto, she was his precious person and he would protect her what ever the cost. He smiled as another fond memory came to mind.

* * *

**Naruto wasn't sure what he hated more, the arrogance of some people or bullies. Luckily, Naruto didn't have to make the choice because Sasuke was both.**

**"You look like your going to cry, have I hurt your feelings dog breath?" Sasuke asked mockingly. Much to the amusement of his little gang who stood beside him taking turns to insult the boy in front of them.**

**Naruto could feel anger rising up within him. He may not have known Kiba very well but he knew better than most what it was like to be treated like dirt. He knew he would end up regretting what he was about to do but right now he didn't care as he made his way towards Sasuke and his gang.**

**Little did Naruto know, he wasn't the only one who disagreed with what they saw. "Shikamaru, I swear I'm going**_***munch***_**over there in a minute." Chouji said to the boy laying on his back staring into the sky. "It's troublesome but I guess we could try and stop it." He said getting to his feet. Drawing nearer to Sasuke and his gang they could hear the insults fly back and forth. It was clear to see Kiba was not faring well as he struggled to find a response every time they insulted him. Shikamaru watched as his friend tipped what was left of his snack into his mouth in one go and throw the packet behind him. Shikamaru knew what this meant, Chouji was pissed. "How troublesome." He sighed knowing what was coming next.**

**"Leave him alone." Naruto said dryly.**

**"No." Sasuke said simply with a smirk.**

**"I wasn't asking." Naruto said with a slight edge to his voice. His dislike for the boy was starting to grow even more.**

**"What if I don't?" Sasuke said, clearly amused by the situation.**

**"Then I'll make you." Naruto threatened, his anger starting to slowly surface.**

**Suddenly another voice spoke up. "He won't be the only one." Shikamaru said bluntly. He was accompanied by a chubby boy who Naruto recognised from his class. "That's right." Chouji said.**

**"I don't need anyone's help, I can deal with this on my own!" Kiba shouted suddenly. However, nobody seemed to be listening as the two groups stared each other down.**

**Do you know who your talking to? Sasuke asked arrogantly.**

**"Do I look like I care right now teme?" Naruto asked a little bit more anger in his voice. If he felt like he disliked Sasuke before, he was pretty sure he hated him now.**

**"I'm Sasuke Uchiha. Uchiha. You have heard of the name right?" Sasuke asked even more arrogantly than before.**

**"What a drag. Do you really think your name is going to protect you from getting that stupid smile wiped off your face? Shikamaru asked in the most plain and blunt tone possible. He knew how this was going to end and did not see any reason to let it drag on for too long, he wanted to get back to watching the clouds. That's if he wasn't grounded forever.**

**The look of pure disbelief on Sasuke's face was priceless. Naruto and Kiba were stunned, they never expected Shikamaru to get straight to the point. He looked too lazy to be the fighting type. Whereas Chouji struggled to keep a straight face unable to contain his laughter.**

**"There's nothing to be laughing about fat ass." Sasuke hissed his face slightly red and angry. Sasuke's gang clearly found the last comment amusing as they burst out laughing just as Chouji had done seconds before.**

**"Is fatty going to cry?" Asked one of the boys mockingly.**

**In that instant all hell broke loose.**

**"I'm not fat, I'm chubby!" Chouji roared as he charged towards Sasuke's gang planting his fist into the boys face.**

**Sasuke's gang were stunned to say the least but that did not last long as they started to punch and kick Chouji all over. At that moment Naruto, Shikamaru and Kiba got involved exchanging punches with Sasuke and the others, furiously protecting Chouji.**

**"Fight, fight, fight!" The crowd shouted who by this time had grown very large drawing the attention of the instructors who rushed out immediately stopping the fight.**

**It had been half an hour since the fight and they all were beginning to feel the affects. They all sported a couple of bruises and bumps as well as some sore knuckles. Despite this, they all seemed to be having a good time.**

**"Who got that teme Sasuke?" Naruto asked.**

**"I think that was Shikamaru." Kiba laughed.**

**"He had it coming." Shikamaru said lazily as always but with a smile on his face.**

**"Thanks for stepping in when you did guys." Chouji said.**

**"Yeah, thanks." Kiba said a little awkwardly, he wasn't sure how to react he had never relied on anyone for help before.**

**"No problem, I know you would have done the same for me." Naruto said with a smile. To which Shikamaru and Chouji nodded in agreement smiles on their faces.**

**"When we get out of here we should all hang out." Naruto said.**

**"That's if we get out of here." Kiba joked.**

**Sure enough that was the longest detention possibly in the history of the academy. Despite this, they could not help but feel it all had been worth it as they walked out of detention more than just comrades. They were now friends**.

* * *

Naruto's thoughts were suddenly interrupted as he realised the time. 'Shit, I can't be late today.' He thought, jumping out of bed in a mad rush for the bathroom. Getting through his normal routine of shower, ramen and orange jump suit admiration in under five minutes was a feat Naruto was quite proud of. Slamming his front door behind him, he ran as fast he could towards the academy.

He made it with only five minutes to spare, exhausted he dropped into his seat next to Hinata who greeted him with a cheery smile like she did every morning. Even though he was tired he could not help but feel excited about the day ahead.

* * *

"Uzumaki Naruto, Uchiha Sasuke." Iruka called out, he knew the two had a strong dislike for each other and hoped that the fight wouldn't turn out to be a full on brawl.

'_As I expected_.' Naruto thought happily. This is what he had been hoping for, he could not wait to kick the crap out of Sasuke ever since he first met him and to be honest Sasuke felt the exact same way.

Naruto and Sasuke both fell into their respective stances waiting for Iruka-sensei to give the signal for them to begin. As soon as the signal was given Sasuke charged at Naruto planting a strong fist into his face before he could get his guard up. After getting over the initial shock of how quickly Sasuke had moved he raised his guard in time blocking another punch. Naruto decided to stay on the defensive, he was comfortable here. He was going to take his time looking for flaws in Sasukes movements that he could capitalise on. Sasuke closed the distance throwing a few quick punches which were all blocked. Sasuke was starting to get very frustrated, he couldn't seem to land one effective strike on the blond. Sasuke got in close once more throwing another punch. Naruto decided it was time to go on the offensive, after blocking the strike he surprised everyone as he countered kicking Sasuke in the side then knocking him of his feet with a hard punch to the side of his face. As Sasuke fell Naruto grabbed hold of his shirt and pulled him closer connecting with another punch, followed by another before letting go. Sasuke hit the ground hard as the match was called. There was silence for a few seconds, they were stunned, even Iruka himself couldn't believe his eyes. Everyone's reaction made Naruto feel a little uneasy , everyone's except Hinata's who smiled happily her cheeks glowing bright red. As he looked into her eyes he felt the strange comfort he always felt when he was around her and slowly he started to feel better. A few seconds had passed and so did the silence, the sounds of mad cheering could be heard mixed in with the incoherent screams of Sasukes fan girls who ran to his side. Shikamaru, Kiba and Chouji on the other hand were overjoyed and were leading the celebration and to Naruto's surprise they weren't the only ones cheering for him. He didn't know what he was feeling but if it meant kicking Sasuke's ass everyday he would do it just to feel the way he did right now.

Iruka continued to stare at the blond, he couldn't believe he was the same boy who entered the academy a few months ago. _'You've really come far Naruto_.' He thought proudly.


End file.
